Beginner's guide to PostgreSQL Hacking
summary
Shows how to get and build PostgreSQL from source: use git and git worktree to manage versions, configure with debugging flags (enable-debug, enable-depend, --enable-cassert, and -O2 per the slides), then make, make install and run regression/isolation/pg T tests. Recommends starting in SRC and contrib (extensions) to prototype changes, use pg_ctl and attaching gdb to the backend PID to trace execution, and demonstrates where planner, buffer manager, WAL, locking and IPC code actually live.
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chapters (19)
- 0:00Introduction to PostgreSQL hacking
- 1:12Why hack PostgreSQL
- 8:38Getting PostgreSQL source code
- 13:16Source code layout overview
- 18:00Building PostgreSQL from source
- 22:16Starting PostgreSQL server
- 23:40Postmaster lifecycle
- 24:21Backend process lifecycle
- 25:27Query execution flow
- 26:52Data access and storage
- 27:58Transaction management
- 29:01Buffer and memory management
- 31:34Memory context system
- 35:03Locking mechanisms in PostgreSQL
- 37:29System caches and IPC
- 39:15Error handling and debugging
- 40:18Tools for PostgreSQL development
- 43:31Exploring PostgreSQL source code
- 45:00Q&A
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